


Club Apple Berry

by orphan_account



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Club AU, Humanstuck, Multi, please enjoy the most ooc story ull ever read, stripper amporas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-08
Updated: 2015-11-13
Packaged: 2018-03-21 22:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3706145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were loud, rowdy, and young. Sollux, Karkat, John, Dave, and Terezi were inseparable; their constant arguments only brought them closer as friends to family. They lived together in the abandoned fire house, happy and stable when Dave proposed his idea.</p><p>The fire house became The Firehouse, but Terezi called it Club Apple Berry because Sollux had insisted the main colors be blue and red. John had cried out in glee at the perfect idea, Karkat might’ve smiled if he wasn’t tackled by John, and Dave tried to laugh at the two of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introducing Them

**Author's Note:**

> trying to get pumped for the update with dumb fanfic  
> have fun

Sollux Captor was Japanese but raised in America. His eyes carried a special gene, causing one an almost transparent blue and the other a dark brown. The contrast gave him his obsession with red and blue, his love for those colors gave him his obsession with the number two. He’d dyed his hair golden, the bottom a nearly black undercut. He loved it because it reminded him of honey. And honey reminded him of his fathers. His fathers reminded him of bees and the cycle went on. There were only two numbers in code, so of course, Captor relished in coding line after line to lines. There weren’t only two genders, but he still loved men and women alike. There were two syllables in his name, so maybe it was just fate for him to love the number two. He had only had one love yet she was dead and long gone. He was waiting for his second to come. He was waiting for his color blue.

Dave Strider was albino; his hair a faint yellow and skin pasty. But there was a heavy air of charm to it. Although people laughed at him, Dave bleached his hair to make it perfectly white, claiming the yellow just wasn’t ‘right’. His lips were a light pink, matching his cheeks whenever a cute person gave him a kiss. The faint freckles specked the bridge of his nose, crawling out just to meet the far corners of his eyes, yet no one could see the clusters where the wrinkles arose whenever he smiled, far too hidden by sunglasses of endless tints. He always said there was something wrong with his eyes and that they were a secret, but finally giving up one day in high school and showing John the pale redness of them. They kissed that day. Didn’t talk about it the next. Forgot about it in a week and didn’t remember until John came up to his doorstep with a present. Dave loved those sunglasses with all his heart, trying to not show his joy when he held them in trembling hands, trying not to laugh when he took off the old, clunky pair and slipped on the new, trying not to smile when he looked up to see a bucktoothed grin. He cried that night, warm tears spilling onto the brown tinted glass because God… He had loved John so much.

John Egbert was a mix of races; his hair black and skin brown like milk chocolate, though don’t mention it to John. He might scream about pastries at you. His eyes were blue, a color so clear it had captivated so many. He hated braces so his two big front teeth always showed whenever he doubled over in a laughing fit after pranking you into walking under a bucket of water. His nose would wrinkle when he snorted. It would wrinkle even further when his friends teased him about being a pig. But there would always be joy in his heart, relentlessly pushing forward to make others giggle.

Karkat Vantas was Hispanic and if you had ever heard the phrase ‘the shorter the angrier’ he was living proof. His skin was dotted with freckles at heavy competition with Terezi’s and everyone claimed some of them looked like hearts. His hair was a tangle of black, but if you ever looked close enough, you could see the permanent red dye showing in thin strands. He’d done it for Terezi, trying to give her something she liked to look at before she went blind. He had loved her so much. Maybe his freckles were hearts, for the boy fell in love with so many, love simply ran in his veins.

Terezi Pyrope was blind; she didn’t think her race was much of anyone’s business. She was born with ginger hair, growing out choppy, full of split ends, and untamable. She called herself wild, she called herself strong, and then she called herself sick. Her eyes were giving out and she couldn’t afford to stop them, she didn’t tell anybody but Karkat. Karkat had told everyone and everyone… Everyone was too much. Surgery came and went. Doctors’ appointments and therapy lessened, and Pyrope soon beamed again. She got used to being blind fast, now starting to cackle about her perfection and glee as she ‘accidentally’ slapped the legs of her friends. But on the long nights where every store in the city was closed and the sun began to peek out in the morning of 3:30, Terezi would open her eyes. She would always see darkness.

Sollux, Karkat, John, Dave, and Terezi were inseparable; their constant arguments only brought them closer as friends. They had lived with their parents in high school when Dave moved out for college. He’d searched up and down the city for a new home before finding the fire house. The building was old, long abandoned and begging to be bought. Its charm laid in the red bricks, the wide spaces, and the multiple rooms upstairs and further. And so Sollux, Karkat, John, Dave, and Terezi moved in together. They lived a happy and loud year, full of occasional hookups between Terezi and Karkat, Sollux falling in love with a girl he claimed to be one of his dreams, John laughing as he booby trapped the house, and Dave swooning over John. They were all joyful, even more joyful when Dave collected them together and proposed an idea.

The fire house became The Firehouse, but Terezi called it Club Apple Berry because Sollux had insisted the main colors be blue and red. John had cried out in glee at the perfect idea, Karkat might’ve smiled if he wasn’t tackled by John, and Dave tried to laugh at the two of them.

Strider ran the music, attracting crowd after crowd with a beat that moved to the pace of their fast hearts. Captor’s fingers ran across electronic powered boards, lights beaming down on screaming and whooping people. He snickered when he saw hookups happen between drunken partners, eyes softening when he saw his girlfriend turn down any men and the occasional woman, then turning into a smirk when Dave kicked his leg declaring the lights were off tempo. John worked at the bar, the bucktoothed wonder serving young adults with a beam, sometimes winking at underaged and slipping them a coke. Karkat would snort into his glass, forever perched on the bar edge and telling immature teens to ‘Fuck off’. Terezi would take care of things if they got too rowdy, subduing them and tossing them onto the street.

“YOU JUST GOT BEAT UP BY A BLIND GIRL, BITCHES!”

Of course, they hired more people to help out. Gamzee Makara, a gentle African American with unruly dreadlocks worked beside John in the bar, though he spent most of his time sipping daintily on the vodka. Nepeta and Equius served as bouncers at the door, a proud beam on both of their faces after Nepeta took down any troublemakers.

Now you were probably wondering about Sollux's 'girlfriend'.

Aradia Megido was a happy Argentinian girl, long hair pouring off her shoulders and pooling at her waist. She'd always be covered in dirt from digging in her garden, nails stained green and brown from grass. She loved the color red, she loved archeology, she loved Sollux.

Aradia died eight months after the club opened.

Sollux had slipped into depression; the club started losing business as the crowd grew tired of the same thing over and over at night. The lights and music were programmed to spin the same things, Dave too tired to whip up something new. John’s smile faded, Karkat’s grew to be a scowl, and even Terezi didn’t find joy in beating off unruly kids. A month passed. The club closed down and all its remnants collected dust. Gamzee apparently had gone on a rampage one night, now curled up in a ball behind bars. Nepeta had to go to college and Equius had his fifth year of engineering to finish.

The Firehouse grew quiet, only disturbed by Sollux’s muffled sobs and Karkat’s tired voice after turning any possible customers away.

It was raining the night Sollux finally came downstairs, pulling everyone into a fuss and loud screaming he was alive. A spark of joy lit between them again, pizza was ordered, a pillow fort built, and shitty movie after shittier movie to be watched. Terezi stifled her giggles at the bad English dub of Running Man, John complained Con Air was going to be the best one, Karkat slung an arm around Sollux’s shoulders, Dave was watching John and wishing he could do the same and Sollux smiled, tears brimming at his eyes as he was surrounded by love.

They were in the middle of The Dark Crystal at 11:19 PM when a knock was heard echoing through the metal doors.

One knock.

One, two, three knocks.

Karkat got up with a grumble, putting on his angry face and shooting them a look when Dave whispered, “He’s gonna use his batman voice.”

But Karkat didn’t speak; his jaw was left agape at the sight before him. He was tall, slender, dark skin showing he was most likely Indian. The group looked up in confusion when Vantas spluttered out the common words of they weren’t open anymore but, he didn’t get past the first sentence when the man brushed past him.

“Sorry, just cold an’ wet as Hell out there. Don’t want me freezin’ do you, Kar?”

Because then there was Eridan Ampora. His warm skin glistened with the rain, bangs damp, and eye makeup wanting to run but only smearing slightly if you looked close enough. His hair was a notorious violet, his clothes clung to him and hung loose in all the right places, and gold piercings and jewelry shimmered in the lights. He strode forth; jaw set tight and purple eyes trying to pierce the skin of Sollux. His lips quirked upwards along with a sculpted brow, a purr escaping his throat. “Well, I know I’ve changed but, you, Sol? Not one bit. I’m seein’ your hair has stayed the same since high school. An’ the glasses, don’t you think it’s time to let them go?” He smirked triumphantly at the look on their faces, the sudden recognition dawning over them in sheer amazement that the brat from high school had become a snarky God.

“I’m hopin’ I could get a job.”


	2. Drunk Text Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i dont even know who i ship together anymore

Eridan and Karkat were both pretty bad at singing. The smaller boy only knew a few chords on the guitar and his fingers were so short that he’d never achieve an F chord. Eridan could probably make the formation but he had refused strongly, saying that it hurt his tips too much. So they both only occasionally strummed a few easy chords on the heavy strings and breathed out flat notes.  
At the time it wasn’t even their own guitar, they secretly stole Cronus’ when he was out trying to muse girls. They laughed as they purposefully fucked up his tuning when they were done.   
Well, Karkat bought his own in ninth grade and the two freshman sat cross legged on Eridan’s massive bed. They’d joke and sing love songs to each other, make goo-goo eyes and talk about getting married.  
Sometimes Karkat would rest his head on Eridan’s knee and the guitar, in turn, rested on his stomach. He’d strum the sleepiest chords he knew, plucking strings at random that grew into a harmony. And when they talked at 2:46 AM and they both had the same ideas of life and they had cuddled together under the bedsheets and their eyes were lidded in the dark and their faces were so close and they could smell each other’s breath; Eridan spoke softly.

“Do you think w-we share the same ideas because w-we share the same breath?”

And that stayed with Karkat for a long time.

Of course, he knew, that it was just early morning murmurs and that they’d both forget it in the morning. They’d say good-bye to each other in eight hours, Karkat would go home, and they wouldn’t talk for a few days because maybe they were scared that somehow that night made them too vulnerable, too open.

Was that why they stopped talking?

Karkat didn’t actually know. High School was too hazy for him to remember anything. Yes, yes that actually does happen to people. Life has a way of blurring into just days that are actually months. Maybe something traumatic happened. He did have a way of blocking out things now.

And for some reason, the sight of Eridan made Karkat want to cry. His reaction was just far too delayed. He lunged at Eridan, grabbing his collar and hitting their foreheads together however gently he pleased. Their skulls probably stung from impact.

“Fuck, Kar!” 

But Eridan was laughing. And crying. And hugging the smaller boy. It was quite a sight to Sollux and Co as they watched Eridan slowly wrap his arms around Karkat’s neck, sheltering him and encompassing him even though he was soaking wet. And the smaller boy flailed beneath him, pounding his back before the fury faded.

Their sobs filled the silence as they embraced in front of everyone.

“Okay, what’s even going on now?” Terezi wailed from the pillow fort, a blanket over head like she were a monk and her glasses were on the verge of falling down her nose. John was next to her now, also decked out in the same attire, except his glasses were pushed up on his forehead and the blankets were multiple.

“Fuck off, Rezi, ‘M tryin’ to have a moment with Kar here.”

“Eridan?” Her impish smile carved its way back onto her face and Terezi shifted to fix her glasses, maybe even teasing the idea that she’d get up herself and greet him.

“Yeah, it’s Eridan, he’s hugging Karkat right now.”

John was punched in the shoulder as her form of thanks.

As Dave sat in silence on the donut chair, Sollux was sneering at Eridan from the couch. It would’ve been comical that both boys sat in the same position, legs crossed and hands thrown up. But Dave was arching his fingers and Sollux was flipping Eridan off. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Lookin’ for a job, I made that clear right?”

“Doesn’t mean you can just come in here, so shit off it’s like midnight!”

“Actually it’s 11:29 but close enou-”

“I don’t care, Dave!”

Sollux had grabbed a pillow, flinging it at Eridan. It landed pitifully at Karkat’s feet and the small boy kicked it away. Eridan had bit off a laugh, backing up on instinct. 

“Sollux, you’re kinda overreacting here.” He mumbled, changing his mind and chasing after to pillow and picking it up to hug his chest. “Eridan’s our friend, right?”

“What the hell, KK?! We haven’t even talked to him since high school, how do we know captain shit here isn’t planning to fuck something up?” He cocked his head at Eridan, eyes wide from his painfully critical gaze. “You’re rich, maybe you’re planning to buy this plathe out, huh! Oh yeah, perfect timing. We can hardly pay rent now, I’m thure you expect uth to accept a nice healthy wad of cath so you can desthtroy thomething more that makes m-”

“Shut up Sollux, you’re starting to sound like Karkat.”

“Go take a dick, Dave.”

“Gladly.”

Sollux grabbed a pillow and shoved his face against to muffle a loud, furious groan. “Jutht get him out!”

Eridan hunched so he could whisper to Karkat, eyes soft. “Sorry, I got enough money left to pay for a hotel an’ all.”

“Hell no, you can stay in my room tonight.” He raised his voice back up, “Because two baby is throwing a fit over there, we should let him use his bottle and calm down.”

The middle finger shot back up.

Karkat laughed and flipped him back off, even though he knew Sollux couldn’t see and he led Eridan upstairs. He internally screamed when Dave left them with a dog whistle.

The downstairs went quiet again as the remaining adults resumed their movie, trying to think of what to say as Kira saved Jen’s sorry ass from vultures. They all laid around when the movie was done, tired and blank minded. Dave dozed off on the chair, Terezi and John abnormally curled up next to each other in their shitty pillow fort, and Sollux staring up at the ceiling. 

He swallowed the bile in his mouth, eyes flicking over to the clock on the wall. It was 1:33 AM. Tired and emotionally battered, he got up with a soft grunt and shuffled upstairs to his room.

He took note that soft fairy light seeped under Karkat’s closed bedroom door, listening carefully when he passed by in ghostly silence, and holding his breath as he slowly opened his own door.

They were talking.

Sollux didn’t sleep that night. But he knew that Eridan and Karkat finally went to bed at 3 AM.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> goddamn that was terrible.
> 
>  
> 
> but holy shit hi im back i hope no one missed me  
> i'd be flattered if you did though thanks 
> 
> yeah omg  
> this finally updated again!! wow  
> i probably wont update again but really who knows??? check back in on me in a few months, you might just be surprised
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/mordikya/playlist/1XsLFVALJVvEiHmhr9Wa5K  
> heres the music i was listening to when i wrote this if anyones interested lmao


	3. This Charming Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy shit im still updating

Eridan woke up to a dark and very unfamiliar room. He could tell in the faint light that it was actually pretty tidy, excusing a few stray novels and clothes. A pillow and blanket was on the floor to the left of the bed amongst a mess of clothes and books.

The alarm clock read 9:57 AM.

He blinked very slowly before wincing. “Fuck.” He must’ve forgotten to take out his contacts last night.

Slowly, Eridan sat up, looking down at the tee shirt and shorts he was dressed in. They were too large to be Karkat’s, so Eridan teased the idea of them being Sollux’s in his head. Well, maybe teased the idea too much seeing he was sniffing the shirt for confirmation.

He was reaching down between his legs before freezing at a loud noise, sounding like a shriek from downstairs. This was followed by laughter and realization to Eridan that he was getting ready to jerk off on his best friend’s bed.

_Down boy._

He slid out of the bed, looking for his jacket that carried a spare pair of glasses for him in it’s pocket. Success.

It turned 10:05 when he left Karkat’s bedroom in search of a bathroom.

The hallway was small but had door after door lining the wall, each one having a little sign on it. He took note Dave’s room was in between Terezi’s and John’s and all their signs had terribly scribbled animals on them. Karkat’s plaque had a lot of hearts all over it. And dicks. A lot of dicks. The classic work of Dave Strider.

 

‘ _Well, thank god, I was gonna get lost in here without them_.’

 

He glanced to the left. There was Sollux’s room. His sign was hanging crooked on the door and bore the marks of scribbled penises, something he assumed was circuits, and a red mark. Eridan didn’t need to touch it or compare it to lipstick bottles to tell it was a kiss print. Maybe Siren in Scarlet.

He walked past the door in silence and onto the bathroom.

-

Eridan had to admit, he thought he looked pretty cute with this case of bedhead. The look was dubbed ‘chic hipster wwho just wwoke up after drinking a lot and hitting up his best friend for a job’... Yeah, sounded about right.

He tiptoed out of the bathroom before trying to glide gracefully down the stairs. He wasn’t prepared for the mess that awaited him.

 Morning light streamed in through the glass roof windows, giving the room an even more open effect. Something told him they had pretty easily renovated the previous dancefloor into a living area and their old bar was now holding boxes, canned foods, and other non perishables. They installed a fridge pretty easily it seemed as well. It would’ve been nice if pillows and blankets hadn’t been strewn across the floor, a few questionable plushies and dolls in the mix.

 “DURARARARARAH!” Dave was yelling at Terezi as she faked punch after punch to his stomach and chest. He was squealing and slapping her hands away occasionally, breaking the endless chant.

That was, until Dave was silenced once and for all with a swift blow to his abdomen and he collapsed. The boy hugged his stomach, faux coughing as he groaned.

“Dick… Punch....”

Eridan glanced over at the Tv. Oh, they were watching Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. That made sense. God, fucking anime.

John was behind the bar, laughing and holding a tiny orange salamander in his hands as he watched them. Looked like he was getting a hearty breakfast of Star Wars themed cereal ready for them. God, what a good fucking friend.

The heavy wooden doors were suddenly thrown open, letting even more bright light and the sound of the city into the room. God, there goes the fucking door. Off it’s hinges.

Eridan stood petrified as Karkat stormed into the room, arms full with a box of clothes and hangers. Seemed like he wasn't planning on closing the door behind him either, letting possible civilians stare in horror as they walked past the club doors. “David Elizabeth Strider, you are a filthy liar!”

“Karkat Victoria Vantas, you are a poet.”

There was a loud ‘oof’ as Karkat stepped on Dave’s stomach, hands on his hips as he glared down. Dave put his hands next to his head in surrender.

“They said they never got a binder in the mix. But you said you brought it over!”

“... Oh.”

“Where’s my binder, Dave?!”

“I don- OH, JESUS, I am not a masochist, Karkat, get your foot off!”

Karkat huffily took his foot away before dropping the box on the ground next to Dave’s head. “You have five minutes to find that binder in your bedroom or you can sort through this laundry and see if it was just a stupid error at the dry cleaners.”

The albino hurriedly got up, running and tripping towards the stairs. He brushed past Eridan, waving his apology before thudding into his bedroom. You could hear the door slam and him shifting around the unknown mess in there.

Eridan slowly descended the steps.

“Good morning, Eridan!” John chirped, not at all phased by the drama that just took place in front of him. Terezi had moved during the yelling to her bowl of cereal and was hunched over, scarfing it down loudly. Well at least someone REALLY enjoyed ‘Whole Wheat’ Corn starfighters.

He took a seat three away from Terezi. “Mornin’ John. Never expected this sorta hell in second floor heaven.”

“Don’t worry, this happens every morning!”

Eridan opened his mouth, wanting to say that he probably should worry if they were fighting like that every single day but, realization closed it back up. They were a group of energetic young adults, they were going to be loud all the time. He sighed in defeat, putting his head on his hands and pouting at John.

“Can I have a bowl a’ cereal too?”

His response was a plastic bowl sliding towards him, spoon, milk, marshmallows and all. Eridan glanced over to Karkat who was taking a seat next to him.

“What a fucking mess, right?”

He took a bit to finish his bite, humming his agreement as he looked around the room once more. Karkat must’ve tidied up a little, a pile of blankets and pillows next to the couch. Well, at least there was room to walk now. Eridan had to admit, the mess of bedroom supplies was actually a bit charming. Homely even.

It was still a wreck though. He couldn’t imagine living in such a ruin every day.

“S’sorta nice, though, Kar. Could use a mum’s touch, though.”

Karkat snorted into his bowl. Must’ve been supplied to him by John. Aw, what? Cornflakes? Eridan tried to be content with his marshmallow light sabers, they were pretty cool after all.

“Yeah, I guess. But a cleaner house would make it easier to find all my shit. Dave keeps getting confused and is stealing my clothes all the time. He’s a fucking handful, I’m considering embroidering my name into all my boxers.”

“Wouldn’t be a bad idea.” Eridan looked down, remembering he was still in Sollux’s clothes. It was kind of nice, really. He was still trying to figure out what deodorant he used.

“... Yeah, sorry, it was all I could find.”

“S’fine, I like ‘em.”

Karkat went quiet for a bit before snorting again and mumbling to himself about how gay Eridan could get. The sound of Terezi’s eating and all three’s faint chatter became white noise as the aquarius thought.

He did want a job. But, really, all he could offer was financial run overs and… Well. He was a dancer of sorts. Eridan choked on his cereal when he felt a hand slap his back, bringing him out of his thoughts once again.

Dave had shoved a black binder in Karkat’s face before it was snatched from his hands. “I found it, dude. We good?”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks. Glad I don’t have to buy a new one.”

“Not like you could’ve afforded it too.”

“I know, shit off asshat.”

Eridan was reticent, licking his lips as he pondered the best way to pop the question again. It took him a few minutes, long enough for Dave to drag off Terezi to keep playing and for John to climb over the counter to put on Thursday morning cartoons.

“So, um… Kar.”

“So, um, Eridan.”

He laughed a bit as Karkat looked at him with a mouth full of cereal. “I still want t’ get a job here, y’know.”

“But we’re closed.”

“You don’t have t’ be, I can help spice things up.”

The other boy sighed, picking up his bowl and taking a long sip of the milk left over. There was a pause as he stared over the counter. Eridan almost wanted to thank the Tv for being on, he couldn’t handle Karkat’s silence.

 

“... We’re not a strip club, you know.”

 

“I know that!” Eridan spluttered, spitting out some cereal. “I just w-want t’ do somethin’ you know? It doesn’t have t’ be me grindin’ a fuckin’ pole!”

He cleared his throat before continuing, gagging a bit as he spoke. “I’m jus’ sayin’, this place should be revived, it deserves the attention. The club was a fuckin’ blast from what I heard, I don’t think deprivin’ people of somethin’ so excitin’ is really that fair. Especially seein’ you could make some serious fuckin’ dough offa it.”

Eridan let Karkat steal his bowl, watching him in silence as his friend drank the rest of the milk. It was stacked onto the others when he was done, setting off another quiet period.

Karkat glanced over his shoulder at Terezi and Dave before sighing. He rubbed his face, tugged his hair, and yawned. There was a shift as he looked down at his lap to his binder, a grimace passing over his face before he finally turned back to Eridan.

 

“I’ll think about it.”

 

“Thank you, Kar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what you werent expecting them to be cis were you


End file.
